Noel's Seminar
by CrazyJMB
Summary: Noel has a real date with Casey. Before his date, he is confronted by Casey's old boyfriends. What do they have to say to him? Please read and review. Originally a one-shot but will continue as a 3-part.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek

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Noel's POV

I can't believe it. I'm finally going on a date with Casey. It's a real date, not a prove Derek wrong date; it's not just two friends hanging out. It's a date. I've been hoping for this since we first met and now it's here. We're going to dinner tonight.

I received a letter from Emily asking me to meet at her house before my date with Casey. I think she's going to give me some rules on how to deal with Casey. I don't really need it, but I do appreciate Em's concern.

"Hi Noel, come on in", says Emily. "We've been expecting you".

"We?" I ask.

"Yes we", she says as we walk into the kitchen. "You already now Sam and Max, but I'd like you to meet Scott".

"Nice to meet you", I say.

"Same here", he says.

"Why are you all here?" I ask.

"Well Noel, do you know what they all have in common?" asks Emily.

"I don't know. Your all friends with Emily?" I say with a lot of uncertainty.

"Not exactly. Ok, how about this. What do Sam and Max have in common?" she asks.

"Oh they both dated Casey. I'm guessing you all dated Casey", I say.

"Correct", says Emily. "Well my work here is done. I'll be upstairs if you boys need me".

"So what is this about?" I ask.

"We're here to warn you", says Max.

"Warn me? Are you guys going to beat me up for dating your ex or something?" I ask.

"No. We're not here to warn you about us", says Sam.

"Yeah you see man, all of our relationships with Casey had one huge similarity. That similarity played a role in all our breakups. It was direct for Scott over here and more indirect for Sam and myself", said Max.

"What?' I ask.

"Think man. I'll give you a hint, the similarity is next door to us", says Scott.

"Her family likes me with the exception of possibly Derek. Wait, are you talking about Derek?" I ask.

"Yeah" they all say.

I wonder how Derek played a role in all of their breakups. I don't know much about her past with Scott or Sam, but I know she broke up with Max because she was going through some identity issues.

"What does Derek have to do with this?" I ask.

"Sam, you were the first so would you like to tell your story first?" Max asks.

"Sure thing", says Sam.

"You see, I've been D's best friend since grade one. At the time, he was the laughing stock of the school for failing grade one the previous year. I was one of his only friends at the time with Ralph being the other. Anyway, we've been like brothers since then hanging out at school, hockey practice, after practice.

Anyway almost two years ago, Casey and the other McDonalds moved in. Of course Derek just mentioned that he had two new stepsisters and that was it. I remember when I first saw Casey; I was crushing on her from the start. I found it strange that Derek didn't hit on her and even stranger that he didn't mention she was his stepsister.

When he figured out that we liked each other, he made up some male code rule that stated: friends don't date friend's sisters and stepsisters count. We ended up wrestling over it, literally. Finally after Casey yelled at both of us for being idiots, Derek reluctantly let me date her.

At first it was great. But then things went sour. For weeks we were stuck in this vicious cycle of arguing, breaking up, and getting back together. She just felt that we didn't connect well enough so we broke up for good".

"What did that have to with Derek after the whole male code thing. You never mentioned him after that", I said, a little confuse.

"Right, well you see, the reason why we got into so many arguments was because we didn't communicate well with each other. The only thing that she made clear was that she was more obsessed with Derek than anything else. Sure, she mostly complained about him, but she complained about him nearly 24/7. That's not normal, even if he was really her worst enemy. I'm not mad at either Casey or D though. I'm cool with Casey and Derek is still my best friend", said Sam.

"Ok?" I say.

"I'll go next", said Scott. "Well after Sam, Casey went out with me for a little bit. I was her little sister's soccer coach and I had this scheme in which I dated all my player's older sisters. Casey was obviously one of them. I had heard about Derek's previous dating history, so I made the mistake of telling him. Because he was a lot like me, I thought he would keep it to himself. Instead, he invited all of the older sister's I was dating to his house right before one of my dates with Casey and exposed my scheme. I could see anyone else in London doing it, but not Derek unless there was something else going on", said Scott.

"Ok?" I say once again. I look at my watch and I see it's almost time for my date. I try to get up, but Sam sits me back down and insists that I have to hear this.

"Alright I guess I'm last", says Max. "Well you see, I met Casey at a party thrown by Kendra who was trying to set up Casey with a guy. It didn't go well at all and she spent most of the night in her room. I accidently barged in her room thinking it was the bathroom.

We spent the next couple weeks talking and flirting. After a while, it became clear that Derek was keeping an eye on me, but I really didn't care. One day I invited Casey to a football game and a date afterwards. Casey surprisingly went to Derek for football advice beforehand and he tried to ruin things for us right there. He told here the game starts with a groin-kick, you try to get rid of the ball, score fling-flongs, and that the game only lasted 2 quarters, which caused her to run into the locker room at halftime.

That really didn't change anything though. I was flattered that she tried to learn football. After we started going out, Derek and the hockey team initiated a prank war with the football team, with me being the main target. After a few pranks, Derek got into trouble with Ryan and almost got sent to the hospital. However, Casey saved him by making a complete fool of herself. She even sat down on the dirty floor for him. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I really should have. Anyway things between me and Derek were pretty good after that or at least on the surface we were.

Let's see. Oh right there was prom. Obviously, Casey was my date and this was a night that Casey had been dreaming about since she could remember. Well before the dance Derek 'accidently' ripped her dress so she spent the first part of the night crying in her room. But then Derek comes in and saves the day by bringing her a new dress. Coincidence? I thought so at the time.

Fast forward to our last day together. Casey was having some identity issues and she went to Derek, not me, for advice. He then told her that it would be a good idea to change back to her old self. I don't think he said to break up with me, but I'm sure he realized that would be a consequence of her taking the advice would be a breakup with me.

Interestingly enough, weeks later, she asked me to if I wanted to get back together with her. I seriously thought about it, but then my friend on the football team pointed out that she talked to me right after Derek got together with Sally. Coincidence? I finally realized that it wasn't. I then told her I didn't want to get back together. I realized that I would always be second to Derek".

"Well thanks I guess. Oh great, now I'm late for my date", I say.

"Hey just wanted you to get a heads-up of what you're getting yourself into. By the way, does Casey have your cell phone number?" asks Sam.

"Yeah so?" I ask.

"It would seem to me that she would call you wondering why you're late. Funny she didn't", says Sam.

"What are you trying to say?" I ask.

"Nothing. Just making an observation. It's just funny how she doesn't call to find out where you are on your first date. You know, Derek is the only one home besides Casey", says Sam.

"Ok I've heard enough. I'm heading over", I say. To be honest, I'm sick of hearing this. I'm sure that Derek isn't that big of a factor in her life. Those guys are just exaggerating.

Time to go…

Nobody's POV

"So how do you think it's going to go?" asks Sam.

"I give him a week. Two tops", says Max.

"I got to go. I have a date with this hot girl. Best part: no stepbrother", says Scott.

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Hope that was good. The characters were a little off but I think it works. I think I like this as a one-shot but let me know what you think. Please review!


	2. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Ok, I've received several reviews and private messages asking for more. I have 3 ideas on how to continue the next chapter.

I'll make a brief comment on both ideas:

1. Noel goes next door to find that Casey isn't home and neither is Derek. He figures she might be at the restaurant, he starts to head over. She isn't there, but instead runs into two people who have their own stories to tell. It'll be the second chapter of a three-part story. The third chapter will detail what Derek and Casey were up to and what happens when Noel finally finds them.

2. The second chapter details Derek and Casey's night (who do stay home). The third chapter will detail what the end result for Noel and Casey when he arrives next door as well as Derek and Casey.

3. The second chapter details the reason why Casey is held up and hasn't called. It wasn't because of Derek, it was because she was confronted by two people with stories to tell. The third details Casey and Noel meeting up and what ends up happening because of it.

It should be up tomorrow night. Let me know which idea you guys like the best (I'm definitely leaning towards one, but I'm far from sure). Thanks for all the support for this story. :)


	3. Chapter 2

Ok I went with my first instinct and choose the first idea.

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Noel's POV

I can't believe Max, Sam, and that Scott guy tried to pull that crap. They are just jealous that Casey likes me now. I mean come on; she has a thing for Derek! They are not only stepsiblings, but they hate each other. That's almost as funny as Casey's earlier attempt to set me up with Kendra.

I walk up to her house and ring the doorbell. No answer. I ring again. There was still no answer. That's weird, Casey isn't opening the door. Let me think for a second. Did Casey want to meet me at the restaurant? I know what I'll do, I'll call her.

"Hello. This is Casey. Sorry I can't talk to you right now, but please leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as possible", says the recorded Casey voice followed by a beep. I just hang up.

I ring the doorbell once more to make sure that she wasn't home. You know, maybe Derek was harassing her and she didn't hear the doorbell. Come to think of it, Emily said he should be home too. Then again, if it's just Derek, he might just be too lazy to answer the door.

Still no answer.

I guess it's time to check the restaurant. We picked Smelly Nelly's because that was where our "friend date" was and Derek wasn't working there that night. I walk in and it's pretty empty. I survey the room, but I don't see Casey. The only person I recognize is Sally, but that isn't Derek she's with. I think its Kendra. It is Kendra. Why are those two hanging out?

"Hey Noel", said Sally who spotted me.

"Hey Sally. Hey Kendra. Since when are you too friends?" I said.

"Well I had to talk to someone about some issues I'm having and Kendra's the only person who can relate", said Sally.

"Yeah its true. Oh by the way, Casey isn't coming today", said Kendra.

"What? How do you know?" I ask.

"Well you see, I sort of told Casey that you were had something pop up suddenly and that you had to reschedule. She was very understanding and will call you tomorrow about it", said Sally.

"What? Why would you do that? How did you convince her?" I asked frantically. I can't believe this.

"Well you see Noel, I told her that you stopped by her house when she was out this morning to tell her that you had to reschedule. I was over there with Derek earlier today. To be honest, Derek wasn't kidding about how gullible she can be", said Sally.

"Ok I can't wait to hear the explanation on the reason why", I say.

"Well Kendra and I had to talk to you before you decide to date Casey", said Sally.

"Yeah Noel, you have no idea what your getting yourself and we feel that you should receive fair warning", said Kendra.

"Warning about what? I can deal with her freak outs and those other issues that come up with her occasionally", I said.

"That's not what we're talking about", said Kendra.

"Wait a minute. Sally, Kendra? Is this about Derek?" I ask.

"Very good Noel. Glad we didn't have to spell it out for you", says Kendra with plenty of sarcasm in her voice. I don't think she ever thought much of me.

"What Kendra is trying to say is that Derek always seems to get in the way of Casey's relationships and Casey does likewise with Derek's", says Sally.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I already had story time with Casey's ex-boyfriends and I don't want to be lectured by Derek's ex and current girlfriend", I say.

"Not we're actually both his ex-girlfriends. I was at Derek's actually to break up with him", said Sally.

"Ok I think I'm going to leave now", I say.

"SIT DOWN!" yells Kendra. Jeez that girl is scary sometimes.

"Kendra calm down. Noel please sit down. Just hear us out. Give us five minutes", says Sally calmly.

"Fine 5 minutes" I reluctantly agree.

"Kendra why don't you go first since you dated Derek before me", Sally says.

"Sure", says Kendra. "Well you see, I first met Derry when I was partnered up with Casey for some school project. I went over to her house and I first saw him. He was like soooo cute and I could tell he liked me. He flirted with me a little me using his patented Derek Venturi charm. My heart just like so melted.

Well of course Casey figured out that Derry liked me so she made up this story that I like mature guys. Derek changed into that cute, funny, amazing guy into a totally boring geek. In a way it was similar to that male-code crap that I heard Derek pulled with Sam. Anyway, it was horrible, I was devastated. Casey plan had worked, but after seeing her beloved stepbrother so sad, she got us together. She just can't stand seeing Der-Bear upset.

We dated for a few months and it was fun, but he would always complain about Casey. It was always Casey this, Casey that. He always complained also about how I called him every 20 minutes. Well maybe I would give him a little peace if we actually had a non-Casey related conversation. It's not just Derek either; whenever I talked to Casey every other word was Derek. They were…I mean are obsessed with each other.

Lets see I remember one time when I was supposed to have a date with Der-bear and he cancelled on me so he could meet Casey's dad. Apparently, her dad left without spending much time with her, so Derek called him insisting he comes back. Casey wouldn't shut up about Derry's sweet deed for like a week.

We finally broke up after a while. It was actually the longest relationship to date for both of us. The reason we stayed together for so long was because Derek was afraid to break up with me. Correction: Derek was afraid of my tears if he were to break up with me. The other reason was because every time I wanted to break up with him, he would use his charm and I would be under his spell. Eventually I had enough with his Casey-obsession and we broke up. However, being the nosey person I am, I still kept tabs on him for a while.

For example, I happened to see him in summer school last summer. I was there for a different subject, so neither Derek or Casey saw me. Anyway Derek was there for physics while Casey was a counselor for a kid's summer camp. Casey was way in over her head so Derek helped her out instead of studying. They had a moment in which, the kids were running an obstacle course and Casey was just sitting around. Derek noticed and went over to her and put a hula-hoop around her and had her run it. Her face was red long before she started running. Then after Derek passed his test, Casey and the kids begged him to stay another week at camp. You should have seen Casey's face when she asked and when he said yes. Priceless.

I could go on, but then I'd overlap with Sally's story. Sally you have the floor"

"Thank you Kendra", says Sally.

"You know the five minutes are up and I really should…" I start as I stand up.

"Sit!" they both say to me. Kendra ordering, Sally a little gentler.

I comply. Just one more story and then I'm going straight home. I won't talk to anyone until I call Casey. That way there won't be any more storytellers.

"Anyway, I moved here several months ago. I first saw Derek in school, but I didn't meet him until I started working here. Around my third day of work, I saw him teasing this pretty, brown girl; it looked a lot like flirting. He later told me it was his stepsister Casey. I was very surprised to later find out he was telling the truth.

Before I continue, I should mention that when I started working here, Smelly Nelly's just changed managers. Apparently, the old manager was a jerk who was extremely mean to Casey. He got fired after he fired Casey and made fun of her, which caused Derek to quit. He quit his job, which he loves by the way, for her. Then the owner offered his job back after promising a new manager and a raise.

Anyway, for the first couple months here, Derek and I were friends. After I broke up with Patrick, he asked me out. I turned him down because I wasn't ready at the time. After a while, I decided I did want to date him so I went to Casey for help. Rather than simply talk to Derek, she set us up on a date, which Derek thought was a trick. He then played a mean trick on me by bringing Ralph's girlfriend with him to our date. He later apologized and we started dating.

We started out ok with a small bump in the road over his little sister's birthday party, but we made up quickly. The first real red flag came when I asked him to write me a love song and play it at open mic night. I wasn't until later that I realized that he couldn't write a song about me because he really wanted to write one about Casey. Anyway, Casey wrote something for him and then sung it with D-Rock. I heard someone say that her and Derek kept stealing glances at each other. I originally dismissed as some ignorant comment by someone who doesn't know either of them.

Then there was the whole guys can't be friends with girls argument that eventually involved all of us. I started hanging out with Patrick, which really bugged Derek who felt that he was just trying to get back together with me; he turned out to be right, by the way. At the same time, Casey was out to prove to Derek that girls could be friends with guys without it being weird. That's where you came in Noel"

"I already know this story", I simply say.

"Oh good so you don't find it strange that Casey used you to prove a point to Derek? You don't find it strange that Casey went to all that trouble for Derek?" asked Kendra.

"Not really. I mean those two compete all the time. Nothing new really", I say.

"Anyway where was I? Oh right, fast-forward a week. I'm at Derek's house. Marti wanted to play a game so I went and got a board game from the closet. On the floor, I saw a notebook labeled, 'Derek and Casey Research'. I knew it was wrong to look at it, but I couldn't help myself. It had pages listing their major fights. After the fight pages, there was the helpful pages. It listed everything that Casey had done for Derek and vice-versa. It listed everything Kendra and I have described and more. For example, it mentioned how Casey retook a math test for Derek after he switched their papers, how Casey helped rally the school to keep him from being expelled, and how Derek paid off some guy to get her out of trouble after she was caught selling his merchandise. After reading it, I couldn't ignore the truth any longer. It was all about Casey was everything to Derek and Derek was everything to Casey.

Fast forward to this morning. I went to Derek's house to talk to him about this and possibly break up with him. I had asked him point-blank whether he had feelings for Casey. Of course he denied it, but he couldn't deny it and look at me at the same time. Finally I got him to look at me and I told him that he was to either say he didn't have feelings for her while looking me in the eye or we would have to break up.

He simply said, 'I'm sorry'. As I was heading out Casey came in and I told her that you couldn't make it. Then I called Kendra to talk, since she's the only other person who dated Derek for more than a few days. I also wanted to talk to you because I didn't want you to get hurt like we did and I'm sure Casey's ex-boyfriends did".

"I see. By any chance do you still have that notebook?" I ask.

"Yeah, here you go", said Sally as she handed it to me. "I believe it belongs to Edwin and Lizzie, so you might want to give it back to them after you're finished".

"You got it. Well I have to go. Thanks for everything. I do appreciate it", I say. They both wave goodbye.

I open the notebook and find the "helpful page". I figure that I need to see it for myself.

**Derek and Casey helpful stuff**

**1. Derek exposing Scott's soccer sister scheme**

**2. Casey lies and retakes math exam after Derek switches their tests**

**3. Derek helps Casey at Marti's summer camp.**

**4. Derek brings Casey a new prom dress**

**5. Casey makes a fool of herself to save Derek from Ryan**

**6. Derek calls Dennis**

**7. Derek makes the birthday video and sneaks it to her along with Max**

**8. Casey keeps Derek from being expelled**

**9. Casey helps get together with Sally and Kendra**

**10. Casey plans surprise birthday party for Derek**

**11. Derek stops the school from calling her Klutzilla**

**12. Casey ignores her Slacker ambitions to help Derek pass English**

**There's more but my hand is getting tired after the fighting pages and Lizzie's already asleep**

Maybe I should have listened to those guys at Emily's house. What they said is consistent with what Sally and Kendra said. The notebook is the icing on the cake. I guess I haven't really spent enough time with Casey to notice this.

I'll talk to her when she calls tomorrow, but I can't agree to a date. I'll just end up like her previous boyfriends, second to the beloved stepbrother. I'm not mad at Casey because she isn't cheating and I know she wouldn't. She probably doesn't even know or at least understand her feeling for Derek. You can't help who you like. Hopefully we can become good friends, since we do get along very well.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day.

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I hope at least semi-lived up to the first one. Thanks for all the feedback. Please Review.

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By the way for anyone reading Rounders, I am halfway down with the next chapter. The third part of this story should be up by Monday night.


	4. Chapter 3

I had this written yesterday, but when I re-read it, I realized that it was horrible. I decided to change it up a bit. This last chapter is in Casey's point of view and will detail what she does with Derek while Noel is out and what happens when they finally meet up.

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Casey's POV

Noel just called and said he wanted postpone our date. I guess it's the least I can do; after all he did wait for me after I told him I just wanted to be friends. We've been hanging out more and more and he's just the sweetest guy ever. I'm not sure if we have any long-term potential, but it's worth giving him a chance.

Now that my day is free, I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'm not in the mood for poetry, my homework is finished, and Emily is out. None of my family is home. Well there is Derek, but he doesn't count. Oh no, I hear him now. Brace yourself.

"Hey Space Case, where's your boyfriend? I thought you to were supposed to be on some date or something", he said.

"Something came up so Noel had to postpone it. Why do you care?" I ask.

"No reason. It's just sad that Poetry Boy dumped you before you two even went on a real date. That's got to be a new record!" he said as he smirked at me.

"Shut up Derek! He didn't dump me, he postponed. It's going to happen eventually", I say.

"Whatever. I'm bored, I'm heading out", he says.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I don't know. Sally's working tonight so Smelly Nelly's is out of the question. Sam and Ralph are on a double date so they're not available. I don't' know, I figure it out later", he says.

"I'm bored too, can I come with you?" I ask. I really don't want to hang out with Derek, but I have nothing else to do. I knew it was a bad idea to finish my book so quickly.

"Fine. Just don't tell anyone I spent my Saturday with my keener stepsister", he says.

"Whatever" I say as I roll my eyes.

We get into the Prince and drive around for a little bit. We don't say anything the whole time, but the drive is surprisingly relaxing. It kind of cleared my head after the whole Noel cancelation.

"I'm hungry. Let's stop and eat somewhere", I say.

"After two years, Space Case finally had a good idea. Where too? Anywhere but Smelly Nelly's" he asked.

Derek asking me where I want to eat? I must be dreaming or something. Usually he would drive up to the nearest fast food place and order anything greasy on the menu and I'd be left with nothing.

"How about that new pizza shop" I suggest.

"Two good ideas in a row? That's a record", he says. He then smirks at me. No actually it wasn't a smirk, it was a smile. Sort of like the smile he gives Marti, but not exactly. It's a genuine smile.

We head off the pizzeria. We were seated an ordered our beverages. The waitress brought them and accidently spilled my diet cola all over me. Derek was laughing his head off while the waitress was frantically apologizing. I wasn't mad especially considering I was once the clumsy waitress who spilled drinks on customers. I simply went to the bathroom to clean up and hoped that Derek didn't order me something gross.

When I got back, Derek informed me that he already ordered for me. I asked him what he ordered and he just smirked at me. Great! I'm probably going to spend the first half-hour picking off 10 pounds of meat. I'll yell at him once the pizza arrives. I decided it's time to mess with him a little bit.

"So what happened between you and Sally?" I ask smirking right back at him. I noticed he tensed up immediately.

"We broke up. We just weren't feeling it anymore" he says as he shrugs, pretending not to care. I can tell that there's more however.

"Is that the real reason?" I ask.

"Yes", he says unconvincingly. "Now can we stop talking about it!"

"Fine", I say. I'll let him off the hook for now. At least until the pizza arrives.

The waitress then comes with the pizzas. She places the first one in front of Derek, which is covered with 10 pounds of meat. The second one is placed in front of me. I open it and it's a vegetable pizza with light cheese. I look up at Derek in shock.

"What? Isn't that the kind you like?" he asks confused.

"Yeah, it's just that nobody remembers that. George always orders pepperoni that I have to pick off", I say.

"You complain about it every time, so it wasn't that hard to remember", he said shrugging it off like it was no big deal. He knows though much these little things mean to me.

"So Spacey what do you see in Poetry Boy?" he asks.

"I don't know. I guess it's just that's he's sweet and sensitive and I figured he's worth giving a shot to", I say.

"So it's a pity date?" he asks.

"No! It's not a pity date!" I exclaim.

"Then what is it?" he asks.

"Never mind. Forget we talked about it", I say.

"Come on Spacey. Tell your loving brother what's wrong", he says sarcastically.

"Well it's sort of a pity date, but Noel is not the one to feel sorry for. It's me", she says.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Well you see, I always give you a lot of heat about not being able to hold a steady relationship, when I have just as many issues as you. I don't know, it's just that ever since I've moved here, there's been this… something inside of me that I've been trying to fill. Sam and Max were partial, temporary cures, but eventually that feeling came back and came back stronger than ever. That empty feeling. I'm going out with Noel because I want to see if he's the one who can put the beast to sleep. In other words, I'm desperate. Very desperate", I say.

"Uh…ok?" is all Derek can manage to say. For the first time he's speechless. I can't believe that I just spilled my guts to him, but in his own way, he's been the guy that's been there for me.

"So do you two want dessert?" the waitress then asks, breaking the silence.

"Um, sure I'll have a medium chocolate milkshake", Derek says.

"Yeah, I'll have a small chocolate milkshake", I say.

"Be right back" says the waitress who smiles at us. She's up to something.

She comes back, but only has one in his hand and it's too big to be either of our orders.

"Sorry, we're out of medium and small glasses, so you two will have to share a large", she says grinning a little too wide. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but don't worry, it's on the house".

"Thanks", is all either of us can manage to say.

I must say even though it was awkward at first, there was something about sharing that milkshake with Derek. Something nice. Something I haven't felt before. He surprised me again by not finishing the whole thing himself in 10 seconds. He barely had any until he saw that I was slowing down. After I couldn't have anymore, he reverted to his old ways and finished it in 5 seconds.

"I'm going to the restroom. I'll be right back and don't even think about leaving before the check comes", I warn.

"Fine", he mumbles.

On my way back from the restroom I see the waitress smiling at me.

"You know that boyfriend of yours is a keeper and he's a great tipper", she says.

"Boyfriend. Oh no he's not my boyfriend he's my stepbrother", I say.

"Really? Could have fooled me. I wish my brother would pay for my pizza every once in a while", she says. "Well good night".

"Good night", I say. Wait a minute Derek paid for dinner? I don't know what happened to my stepbrother; he's showing his sweet side tonight.

"Ready to go Spacey?" he asks.

"Yeah sure, but I don't want to go home just yet", I say.

"Ugh… Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"I don't know, it's a nice night. Why don't we take a walk in the park", I suggest.

"Ugh…fine. But don't get used to this", he says.

We head home to drop off the car and then we make our way to the park. Derek has been quiet since the restaurant. It's almost like he's deep in thought. Never mind, that can't be it.

We are halfway through the park when I see a familiar figure sitting on one of the benches. I don't realize who it is until Derek finally said something.

"Isn't that Poetry Boy over there?" he asks. "I thought he was busy tonight".

"I thought so to. Let me talk to him alone", I say. He just shrugs and sits down at another bench.

"Hey Noel, what are you doing here?" I ask trying not to sound suspicious.

"I got home early and I was just relaxing here. Why are you here?" he asks.

"Oh I'm hanging out with Derek. It was either that or pretty much go to bed early", I say.

"Derek huh? You two getting along?" he asks.

"Yeah actually we are tonight. He's being surprisingly sweet. I would say it's connected with Sally, but he's usually extra irritable when something goes wrong with her", I say.

"Ever think it's something else?" he asks.

"Like what?" I ask.

"Never mind. Anyway I've been thinking, and I'm having second thoughts about going out with you", he says.

I can't believe it. That's why he canceled. He doesn't want to go out with me. Derek was right.

"You don't, but just a couple days ago you were so excited. I don't understand", I say.

"Let's just say, I don't want to be second to someone else. I had a talk with a few friends today and they said it's inevitable if I were to date you", he says.

"Second to who?" I ask as I start to cry now. I can't believe it; another guy doesn't want me. Does anyone want me?

"Him", he says as he points to Derek. "I don't want to be second to Derek. Casey, I'm sorry, but it has to be done. I hope we can still be friends since I really enjoyed hanging out with you".

"Derek? You think that Derek is more important than you?" I ask. It can't be true. It isn't true. Is it true?

"Yes and so does Max, Sam, and some guy named Scott", he says. I can't believe he mentioned that pig, Scott. I'm so glad Derek exposed that fraud. "I also talked to Sally and Kendra and they felt the same way about Derek. They felt that they were second to you; that they had to live up to you. That's why Sally broke up with him".

"But…" I start. Sally broke up with him because of me? I can't believe it.

"Please don't. Here", he says as he hands me a notebook. "This belongs to Edwin and Lizzie. Please look at it before you return it to them".

"Sure", I say. I really can't say anything else even though I want to. I want to tell him that he's wrong, that everyone is wrong. But at the same time I can't. I want to say it to myself, but once again I can't.

"See you around Casey", he says.

"Bye Noel", I say. I'm still in tears and I'm shaking. I'm not really sad so to speak, but more scared. I'm scared of what he said, I'm scared of what's in this notebook, but most of all, I'm scared of what I'm going to tell Derek.

Derek comes over and puts his arm around me. It's a comforting feeling, knowing that Derek is once again there for me. Once again, Derek had little to say.

When we got home I ran up to my room and opened the notebook. It was filed with pages of documenting our fights, our sweet, helpful moments, and everything in between. It was extremely organized with each page titled differently. There was a whole page documenting Derek's male code scheme and right after it one about my mature Derek scheme with Kendra. The final two pages were conclusion pages. The first was obviously Edwin and Lizzie's because of the handwriting. The second one was different and it was the one that really struck me. My mom wrote it!

**Conclusions**

**Casey and Derek may fight constantly, but there is no hate between them. In fact it's as far away from hate as possible. They are constantly competing in order to prove to the other that they are worthy of the other. They argue to mask their true feelings. They always stand up for the other when one is down, but hide it from everyone because they don't want the world to know that they care. They can't hold a steady relationship because no one can live up to the other. Whenever they ignore each other, they steal glances at each other. **

**The title stepsibling is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it's the reason why they are in each other's lives. It is also the shield that they use to hide their feelings. It is a curse because they believe that society will look down upon them if they were to ever hook up. Little do they know that practically everyone in Canada has taken notice and are rooting for them. It is also a curse because they believe the other could never love them back. **

**In conclusion, after studying Edwin and Lizzie's research, I have concluded that Derek and Casey are destined to be together if they ever wake up and realize it. They are both extremely stubborn, but I think that it's inevitable. There is nothing my husband (who's shocked, but not upset) or I can do to stop it even if we wanted to. **

**-Nora McDonald-Venturi **

It seems like the whole world thinks Derek and I belong together. Maybe they're right. I really haven't thought about it too much. Ok I have, but I always dismiss it because we are stepsiblings and he is usually a complete jerk. I'm so confused.

"Hey Spacey what are you reading?" Derek asks as he barges into my room. He grabs the notebook from me and starts reading. He flips through the first few pages and stops at one point. His eyes then get really big, practically jumping out of his skull. He then continues and his eyes double their size when he reaches the final page. He then proceeds to drop it and walks out of my room. Oh great Derek knows!

I have two options at this point. Avoid Derek until the day I leave for college or talk to him. I'm not a person who likes to run away from her problems, but this time it's looks mighty tempting. No. I have to resolve this.

I go to Derek's room and find that the door's locked. I knock on the door while I beg him to let me in. The door didn't budge. I knocked again louder. He finally opened the door.

"Yes?" he asks.

"We have to talk about this", I say as I hold up the notebook.

"There's nothing to talk about", he says.

"Yes there is. You read what Liz, Ed, and my mom had to say about us. You can't just ignore it", I say.

"Yeah I can", he says.

"Derek, do you know why Noel didn't want to go out with me? Because of you. Because he felt that he would always be second to you. And you know what, he's right. He would be second to you. Any guy on this planet would be second to you. I know for a fact that Sally said the same thing", I say.

He looked up at me shocked.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" I ask.

He then came over to me and kissed me with more passion than anyone has ever kissed me before. And I just kissed him back with just as much passion. It was the best kiss I'd ever had. My heart was just racing, shivers went down my spine, and I could see nothing but fireworks. We finally pulled apart after what seemed like an eternity.

"So", I say.

"So", he repeats.

"So are we officially a couple?" I ask.

"No I just kissed you because Edwin had dibs on the monkey" Derek said. He then gave me another genuine smile.

"I'll take that as a yes", I say.

* * *

Aw it's over. Again. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review. :)


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